Tulsa writer and Route 66 guru Michael Wallis provided the voice of the sheriff and served as Pixar's guide along the Mother Road for the 2006 smash "Cars."
That gravelly voice returns in Friday's release of the sequel, "Cars 2," just in a smaller part.
His role as the sheriff of the southwestern town of Radiator Springs (a 1949 black-and-white Mercury Police Cruiser) isn't as large as this movie centers around a grand prix race that takes Lightning McQueen, Tow Mater and their pals around the world.
"I immediately fell in love, not only with the studio, but with all the people," Wallis said in a 2006 interview with the Tulsa World of his first encounter with "Cars" director John Lasseter and his team at the toy-filled Pixar campus in Emeryville, Calif. "They are unquestionably -- and I've worked with a lot of photographers, other writers, magazines, publishers, poets, musicians, actors through the years -- the most creative bunch of people I've ever been around."
Wallis educated the Pixar folks on the Mother Road, road-tripped across several states with them, and invited them to Tulsa.
The Pixar contingent flew into Tulsa, stayed at the Ambassador Hotel and McBirney Mansion and "fueled up on a big breakfast at Ollie's," Wallis said of his new friends in the movie business.
For a look at "Cars 2," check out the trailer for the film, opening Friday in Imax and 3-D formats as well.
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